Delta Council to Hear Community Feedback and Consider Winskill Key Features

Results of the first phase of the Winskill Renewal Project community engagement program will be presented to Delta Council on July 22, 2024. The staff report summarizes the findings, outlines key features of the new aquatic and fitness centre, and seeks Council’s decision on the location for the new facility within Winskill Park.

Through 22 meetings, 6 public events, and an online feedback form completed by 662 households, staff heard from more than 1,632 members of the community on a range of topics including: a vision for the facility, location of the building, features in the leisure pool, suggestions for the fitness centre, changes to the fields, and more.

“Our goal through this first phase of the program was to gather community input on the key features of the new facility before proceeding to design,” says Jim Bauer, Director of Facilities and Capital Projects. “We heard from over 1,600 participants, which included a wide range of park users and interested members of the public, and have received great ideas for the new facility.”

In addition to receiving the results of the engagement program at this meeting, Council will also consider the location for the new facility on the Winskill site. In the report, staff are recommending proceeding with a refined North option, which meets technical criteria and preserves a greater portion of the natural area.

“Through our engagement with the public, we learned that a significant priority for residents when supporting a location for the new site was the preservation of trees in the natural area,” said Bauer. “With this in mind, and after further analysis of various factors including the impacts of construction, staff are recommending an enhanced North option that will see more trees preserved than the options first presented to residents.”

During the engagement program, the preference for tree retention led many participants to support the West option. The updated North option incorporates this feedback by reconfiguring the parking area, and deferring further work on a future fourth ball diamond pending the results of a field use analysis.

As part of the report, Council is also being asked to confirm the size of the new lap pool. Staff are recommending Council approve a 10-lane, 25m lap pool to provide a facility that encourages recreation and pool-use for the community as a whole, while allowing competitive swimmers to utilize it for training and competition.

The report completes Phase One of the community engagement program and seeks Council’s direction on key decision points. If endorsed, the City will begin design of the facility which will involve further public engagement.

The Council Report, including the results of the first phase of the engagement program, is available as part of the Council Agenda as well as at letstalk.delta.ca/Winskill.

For more information on this news release, please contact media@delta.ca.

Background:

The Winskill Aquatic and Fitness Centre opened in 1977 when the population of Delta was about 65,000. The single story, ground-level building includes a six-lane 25-meter lap pool, dive tank, teach pool, hot tub, sauna, stretch room, male and female change rooms as well as four small universal (family) change rooms. There is also an annex that includes an open space for fitness classes and a multi-functional open space that serves the Boys and Girls Club programs.

A report in 2019 showed that the current Winskill Aquatic and Fitness Centre does not meet the building code and that many of the mechanical systems are beyond their expected service life, including the building’s electrical system, mechanical/plumbing systems, building ventilation and multiple roof systems. With a population of 114,000 and growing, the existing facility and amenities are no longer adequate to serve the community and a larger facility is being considered.

In March 2024, Delta Council directed staff to begin the process to design and involve the community. Since then, the City has completed the first phase of community engagement to invite input into the key features of the facility. The results are available as part of the Council Agenda for the July 22, 2024 meeting as well as at letstalk.delta.ca/Winskill. Highlights from the findings include:

• Design the facility to support Fun, Fitness, and Health
• Incorporate wellness features as well as play areas in the leisure pool
• Size the pool and fitness centre to accommodate community growth
• Locate the new building in an area that addresses key technical considerations
  and also preserves the existing natural area and trees
• Opinions are split on adding a fourth diamond at this time